Friday,  February 17th, 2023 

The National Snow and Ice Data Center of the United States reports that the Antarctic sea ice decreased to 1.91 million square kilometers (740,000 sq mi) within the week, the smallest remaining ice area since records began in 1979. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) 

Islamic State militants kill at least 68 people, including 61 civilians and seven soldiers, in Al-Sukhnah, Homs Governorate, Syria. (Barron’s) 

Four people are killed and two others are injured, including Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr., governor of Lanao del Sur, when their convoy is ambushed in Maguing, Philippines, by unknown gunmen. (ABS-CBN News) 

Médecins Sans Frontières suspends its operations in Burkina Faso for an “indefinite” period, except when responding to lifesaving emergencies, following the killings of two of its Burkinabé aid workers by armed men near Dédougou on 8 February. (AFP via Barron’s) 

Eighteen people who have immigrated illegally from Afghanistan are found dead in an abandoned truck in Sofia City Province, Bulgaria. Thirty-five others are hospitalized. Four people have been arrested. (Reuters via The Guardian) 

Six people are killed in a spree shooting in Arkabutla, Mississippi, United States. A suspect has been arrested. (BBC News) 

Thursday, February 16th, 2023 

The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey increases to 43,850, as the World Health Organization declares northwestern Syria as the zone of greatest concern, citing the slow delivery of humanitarian aid. (Al Jazeera) 

Lawmakers in the State Duma vote to withdraw Russia from 21 conventions of the Council of Europe. (RFE/RL) 

Armenia submits a peace treaty to Azerbaijan in an effort to end the decades-long conflict between the two countries. (Daily Sabah) 

Canada announces that it will deploy navy vessels to Haiti for intelligence-gathering amid a worsening security situation in the Caribbean country. (AP) 

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announces that she will step down and will be succeeded by chief product officer Neal Mohan. (The Verge) 

The CAC 40, the benchmark stock market index for the 40 largest market caps on the Euronext Paris, Europe’s second-largest stock exchange market, reaches a record intraday value of 7,387.29 points. (CNBC) 

A Da Nang court sentences four South Korean men to imprisonment for smuggling around 200 South Koreans into Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic when the country suspended the entry of all foreigners from 2020 to 2021. (AFP via Al Arabiya) 

The Portuguese government announces the end of the Portugal Golden Visa investor program, as well as a ban on new licenses for Airbnbs, due to a severe housing shortage and rising rents. (Reuters) 

American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin wins her seventh career alpine world championships gold medal in the women’s giant slalom of the 2023 edition in the French Alps, making her the most successful skier in the modern era with an overall tally of 13 medals from 16 career world championship races. (AP via The Guardian) 

The End